The 30th session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) convened in plenary sessions throughout the day on Monday. COFI heard opening remarks from the FAO Director General and considered and approved the agenda and arrangements for the session and the designation of the Drafting Committee. Discussion on the revised Rules of Procedure of the Committee and related changes in practice was deferred to Thursday. For the remainder of the day, COFI discussed the world fisheries and aquaculture: status, issues and needs, the SOFIA report, and progress in the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and related instruments. Delegates elected at COFI29 to the positions of Chair and Vice-Chairs continued in these positions for COFI30.

Delegates convened on Tuesday for the second day of the 30th session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) to continue discussing progress in the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) and related instruments. Delegates then turned to considering the decisions and recommendations of the 13th session of the COFI Sub-Committee on Fish Trade and the 6th session of the COFI Sub-Committee on Aquaculture.

Delegates returned to the FAO Heaquarters in Rome, Italy on Wednesday for the third day of the 30th session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI). The Committee spent the morning discussing ocean governance and relevant outcomes from the Rio+20 conference. In the afternoon delegates reviewed recent major developments and future work of the FAO on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing that have occurred since COFI 29. During lunch, participants attended side events on current fisheries issues from different parts of the world.

The fourth day of the 30th session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) convened on Thursday. In the morning, delegates received an update from the FAO on its recent activities on the development of International Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries, and discussed the necessary future work on this matter. In the afternoon, the Committee considered: FAO’s Programme of Work in fisheries and aquaculture; the Multi-year Programme of Work of the Committee; the revised Rules of Procedure of the Committee and related changes in practice; election of the Chair and Vice-Chairs for COFI 31; other matters; and the date and location of the next session.

Delegates met for the final day of the 30th session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) on Friday. The FAO Secretariat took the morning to prepare versions of the Final Draft Report from the session, which had been completed at a final Drafting Committee session the previous evening that lasted until 2:00 am.

In the afternoon, Chair Mohammed Pourkazemi (Islamic Republic of Iran) convened the final plenary session during which delegates considered the Final Draft Report for COFI 30. Reviewing the report paragraph-by-paragraph, delegations suggested and deliberated amendments to clarify the meaning and central points of the week’s discussions. With various amendments, the report was adopted.

Chair Pourkazemi offered wide thanks for the fruitful session and officially gaveled the meeting to a close at 6:19 pm.

IISD RS resourcesIISD RS coverage of COFI 29, 31 January - 4 February 2011, FAO headquarters, Rome, ItalyIISD RS coverage of the Eleventh meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, 21-25 June 2010, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of AmericaIISD RS summary and analysis of the Resumed Review Conference of the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, 24-28 May 2010, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF) (Spanish: HTML - PDF)IISD RS coverage of the Fifth Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands, 3-7 May 2010, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Headquarters, Paris, FranceIISD RS briefing note of the Ninth Round of Informal Consultations of States Parties (ICSP 9) to the Agreement for the Implementation of the UNCLOS Provisions Relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, 16-17 March 2010, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF) (French: HTML - PDF)IISD RS briefing note of the Third Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to Study Issues Relating to the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity Beyond Areas of National Jurisdiction, 1-5 February 2010, UN Headquarters, New York, United States of America (English: HTML - PDF)Sustainable Development Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of International Activities Preparing for the UN Conference on Sustainable DevelopmentSustainable Energy Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of Sustainable Energy Activities SIDS Policy and Practice - A Knowledgebase on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing StatesBiodiversity Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Activities Addressing International Biodiversity Policy Climate Change Policy & Practice - A Knowledgebase of UN and Intergovernmental Activities Addressing Global Climate Change PolicyLinkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development newsAfrican Regional CoverageLatin America and Caribbean Regional Coverage

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